pens

Question
i just bruoght a russian tortoise and read alot
about them but my question is this.
i made a wire cage for it will this be ok?
nobody mention one.it must be indoors for now as i live in michigan and it very cold out.it is 2ft by 2ft.


                            thank you
                            rilla

Answer
Tortoises tend to 'bulldoze' walls they can see through. They could easily injure their nose rubbing against the tough wire mesh trying to walk out of the cage.

Clear plastic is not much better- it seems to cause some anxiety for them.

Opaque walls seem to work the best. All you need to do is to fasten some visual barriers to the lowest 4-6" of the walls. Simple Masonite will work since the wire mesh will provide the strength.

2x2' is an OK size, but longer would be better- I prefer 2'x4' at a minimum for most tortoises.

For a good care information site, try www.tortoise.org.

Good luck!